Debate Club: Mobile Application

App concept for taking the pulse of the public’s mood toward each candidate during a presidential debate.

The loading screen for the app. Since the current election is between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, we thought it would be fun to use their faces where possible to add personality to the app.

Users can maneuver the candidates’ faces right and left to rate their debate performances. At the bottom of the screen, a line chart shows their relative approval throughout the debate.

Debates are listed by date. The current or upcoming debate is given extra height with bolded text and deep red on the left.

Users can search for a location or click on the map to see the ratings for the nearest city or state. For the screen that follows, check out the design pdf.

'Project'=>'Collaborate with Nathan Becker to design a debate polling application, inspired by the focus-groups that CNN used in the 2008 presidential election to show real-time audience reactions to the debates.',

'Challenges'=>'Create a highly functional, easy-to-use interface that can be picked up and used reliably by smartphone users. Simplify the presentation of information as much as possible for clearest possible communication.',

'Solutions'=>'Our concept began with a large scope—a tablet application in which users could create their own groups, invite others via e-mail, facebook, etc., and compare their ratings to the nation, state, or city. We ultimately decided, however, to limit the scope to a simpler application, and to tailor it for phones to allow for greater access and mobility. Although this was a concept project, Nathan and I chose to focus the design on a specific client: CNN.'